The application of Social Networking Analysis in marketing: A case study of a product’s page in Facebook. Antoniadis I. 1 , Serdaris P. 2 , Charmantzi A. 3 Abstract In this paper the importance of SNA and graph theory in identifying trends, relationships, and interactions between consumers is presented and the way these methods can affect marketing decision and planning. The main characteristics and definitions of social networking analysis and their application in marketing are reviewed and discussed, including the main indices used such as density, centrality, betweenness etc. The importance of social capital for marketing a branded product is also highlighted. To demonstrate the usefulness of these tools a case study is presented where SNA is used to analyse the network structure of a famous Greek brand page, and the activity (comments) of its members during a period of two months in 2013. The implications and applications of the use of SNA results in marketing decisions and planning are also discussed, and suggestions for further research are offered. Keywords : Social Capital, Social Network Analysis, Brand, Greece. 1. INTRODUCTION Social networking and consumers’ interactions related to a products experiences and use, have always been important for marketing a product or a brand. The dramatic development and use of social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest etc, by consumers, during the last decade has rekindled the importance of research in social networking and word of mouth for marketing. In contrast with traditional marketing channels of communications, social media offers a more efficient and effective approach to new consumers and markets (Edelman, 2010), as they now affects significantly consumers’ behaviour and attitudes towards brands, as well as their shopping process. Brands and brand relationships have been examined extensively by marketing literature. Consumers and brands are presented as partners in a relationship tailored to fulfil a variety of functions by providing consumers with resources in making decisions, meeting their needs, changing their lifestyle, and motivating them towards specific brand choices (Turri et al. 2013). Marketing professionals and academics nowadays are increasingly interested in the ways consumers use products and how they connect with them, through social media, in order to build and sustain a social profile and identity. Moreover new challenges emerge, as consumers are now able to create information and content concerning a brand, and share them rapidly in more effective brand communities, arising issues of content control for firms. Despite those issues of control the use of social networking as a marketing channel has a great appeal among marketers as it provides a channel of interactive communication with consumers, especially for younger ones, combined with high rates of return on investment. The big number of unique users in Greece and the high rates of penetration of social networking sites in the online population (ELTRUN, 2014), makes them increasingly a valuable part in the marketing mix strategy of every brand and firm (Peters et al. 2013). Building a strong and dense network of relations with customers will have to be central to this strategy. The rest of the paper is organized as follows. In the section to come, the main aspects of social media and social network analysis and their relationship with marketing rate presented. This is followed by the importance of social capital for branding, and marketing. In the fourth section of the paper selected graphs are presented from the SNA analysis conducted for a famous hot coffee brand’s Facebook page. The last section concludes the paper with the implications of the case study for marketers, its limitations and directions for future research. 2. SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS AND MARKETING 1 Assistant Professor, TEI of Western Macedonia, Department of Business Administration (Kozani), iantoniadis@teikoz.gr 2 Associate Professor, TEI of Western Macedonia, Department of Business Administration (Kozani), serpan54@gmail.com 3 Undergraduate Student, TEI of Western Macedonia, Department of Business Administration (Kozani), annacharmantzi@gmail.com